Life insurance

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Hi there 

I have been diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. I’ve had the tumour successfully removed but may have to have chemotherapy as there are 2 small areas in the bowel that have been detected.

im waiting for an appointment with the oncologist 

my question is does critical illness cover this as part of my life insurance policy

Thank you 

  • Hi  


    Thanks for getting in touch.

    A Critical illness insurance usually pays out a one-off tax free lump sum on diagnosis of a serious illness which is covered by the policy and can include certain types of cancer.

    The first step is to contact the insurance company who will gather as much information as possible and they can usually give you a good indication if your cancer diagnosis meets their criteria of a critical illness at this point.

    After the initial contact, your insurer will normally send a claim form for you to complete and return back to them. The form will ask for information which relates to the cancer diagnosis, such as the date of diagnosis and cancer type. They'll also ask for your GP and oncologist details so that they can contact them for confirmation of the exact diagnosis.

    Please be aware that it can take a number of weeks for a claim to be looked at, so it might help to ask the insurer how long they think it may take them to make a decision. It can also help to chase your medical team, as delays can sometimes be due to medical reports taking some time to be returned.

    You should be kept up to date throughout the process and if more information is needed, the insurance company should let you know. It's important to continue paying the premiums whilst the claim is being assessed.

    As part of our Money and Work Team, we have a dedicated group of Welfare Rights Advisers who can check state benefit entitlements and are also able to give advice on how any lump sums from insurance may affect means tested benefits.

    I hope this provides you with the information you need and if you have any further questions or would like to discuss things such as mortgages or pensions, then please don’t hesitate to get back in touch.

    Kind Regards

    Lisa

  • Thank you Lisa for the advice and super quick response, thank you.